Mr. Thomas, I've had a hard time sitting down to write this post because there is really so much to say, so much to explain. With all of our kids' births we had a moment of "Ahh-Ha! There you are!" We never named a child before we held them in our arms, before we got to look in their new, fresh eyes. And with each child, the name emerged immediate after he or she was born. 
I think the day MJ was born was the day that I first knew you were coming. I expected a round, robust little boy, and instead God sent us Mary Jeanne. He knew she was just what we needed at that point in our lives. She was (and is) a gift. And when, almost 5 years later, I held you for the first wonderful moment, I felt relief and gratitude because you were finally here - I felt like I'd been waiting for you all my life.
For the rest of our lives, we'll share 11/11. I hope you won't mind too much. The night before you were born, I called Auntie Sarah. She and I have shared our birthdays since we were in 2nd grade - it took us a long time to figure out who was older her on the 10th or me on the 11th.
I have to admit that the end of the pregnancy was starting to wear on me - physically I felt fine - but I was eager to meet you. The doctor had scheduled me to be induced, but I had decided against it because I thought I should wait it out some more. Everyone had their opinions about if I should be induced or not (the curse and blessing of a big family). I just wanted to meet you. So I called Sarah to wish her happy birthday and she asked me how I was feeling and I told her the truth. I was emotional and tired. I just wanted to have the baby and be with my husband. She called me "Annie" and she made me feel better like old, wonderful friends can do, and I hung up the phone feeling happy and relieved. I decided to be induced and I felt so much better.
While Sarah made me feel better, you also helped quite a bit. At about 4 AM on 11.11.11 I started having contractions and I knew you were on your way.
And by mid-afternoon we welcomed you into the world. I can't tell you what you mean to me, I can't explain how happy I am that you're here, all I can say is that I'll never have a better birthday. We love you Thomas - and we thank God that he sent you to us!
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